Crown Princess Review

I just got off the Crown Princess on Saturday so decided to do a review for all of you. It won't be long and I didn't take pictures on board but still I hope you enjoy.

First of this was my first time on Princess. It will probably be my only time on Princess. I had a wonderful time but still don't think I'll be back.

The GOOD:

- The cabins. I was booked in an interior room. Now the cabin, at least from my looking up the sizes, was smaller that my interior rooms I've had on Carnival. However the layout was good and it just made it seem bigger. Instead of 3 closets like on Carnival, it was a walk in closet area with a smaller closet that had a few shelves and the room safe so it was like a nice dressing area. The bathroom was small but manageable.

- The bed. For me the worst part of all my other cruises was the bed in the cabins the mattresses were so hard that I would wake up in the morning my back hurting and feeling it was on fire. My mattress on Crown was hard but I didn't wake up with back aches.

- 4 pools! Yup this ship had 4 pools. Two main pools on in the middle of the Lido. One pool at the back of the ship and one at the Lotus Spa that was outdoors nestled in-between the spa. We chose to hang out at that pool as it was quieter than the other pools but walking through the Lido there was never a crowd at any of the pools and that was nice. They even had a hot tub marked teenagers only but this cruise didn't have an abundance of teenagers or kids.

- Non crowded promenade. It was nice walking down the promenade at night and it not being so crowded with the pushy photographers like on Carnival.

- Good utilization of space. Every night there was always something going on in all the lounges even if it was just music playing for people to dance to. It was nice. Even during the day it seemed each of the lounges had something going on and a lot of times showed movies.

- Movies. They did the movies under the stars and on the nights there was deck parties they moved the late showing of the movie to the Princess Theater. They even had two showtimes for the movie so you didn't have to choose between the movie and the main show in the theater.

- Magic to Do. A new show on some of the Princess ships. It was wonderful! A must see.

- Happy Hour. Every day from 3-4 in the Wheelhouse pub and again from 10-11 at Skywalkers Night Club they would have happy hour. Buy one drink get one for a dollar. It had to be the same drink but still it was nice. We would sit order a few drinks and play cards during the 3-4 happy hour.

- No announcements over the loud speakers about the art auction or sales going on in the shops. If you wanted to know about those things you needed to read your Princess Patter.

- International Café. This was on deck 5 and open 24 hours. Every night for a late night snack I would go down and get me either the BBQ beef panini or the Cubana. Both yummy. They also had a selection of salads and deserts.

The BAD:

- The elevators. A lot of them were out of service. And so it was always a forever wait to get an elevator and then of course they ran slow and stopped at every single floor. I can do stairs up but I have an equilibrium problem that makes going down stairs challenging so I had no choice but to wait for elevators

- Seats in the Princess Theater. VERY uncomfortable and you felt packed in like sardines. Maybe during their upcoming dry dock they will get better seats but I doubt it.

- The food. OMG SO AWFUL minus a few things. The buffet did not have many options to choose from and the only things I enjoyed from the buffet were the veggie and seafood dumplings and the dim sum. The burger and fries I had one day at the Trident Grill was good but no different than what I can get anywhere else. Went to the dining room for dinner and overall the food was bland and sometimes way over sauced or just plain bad.. The last night of the cruise, for example, we all ordered the NY Strip and we all ordered it medium rare. My steak was fatty and way under cooked for medium rare. My mother's was over cooked and dry. My brother's had too much gravy on it and my dad's was all fat. GROSS. The rest of the week the food was just bland and no flavor. The lobster tail was good and enjoyed the amaretto ice cream one night for desert. The saving grace was the paninis down in the International Café.

Overall I had a good time because I was on a cruise ship away from work and daily life relaxing but, like I said, I probably won't choose Princess again unless the price is right.

Well balanced take, thanks for sharing

Srpilo

Thank you for posting. Glad you had a nice vacation!:)

 

 

- The food. OMG SO AWFUL minus a few things. The buffet did not have many options to choose from and the only things I enjoyed from the buffet were the veggie and seafood dumplings and the dim sum. The burger and fries I had one day at the Trident Grill was good but no different than what I can get anywhere else. Went to the dining room for dinner and overall the food was bland and sometimes way over sauced or just plain bad.. The last night of the cruise, for example, we all ordered the NY Strip and we all ordered it medium rare. My steak was fatty and way under cooked for medium rare. My mother's was over cooked and dry. My brother's had too much gravy on it and my dad's was all fat. GROSS. The rest of the week the food was just bland and no flavor. The lobster tail was good and enjoyed the amaretto ice cream one night for desert. The saving grace was the paninis down in the International Café.

 

Very interesting comments, MCA. Thank your for your contribution.

I highlighted some of your comments so that I can add another opinion. I really believe that the steaks and chops in all the Princess venues are served "heavy" with the sauce/gravy because the meats usually seem to be dry, are lacking in flavor, and are, often, "chewy." I always order my beef cuts rare. I never get it rare. It might be slightly pink, but it is never moist. So, I always put extra sauce on it in order to give it some flavor and to help wash it down. Sadly I have had this experience in the Crown Grill, Sabatini's and, most unfortunately, the Ultimate Balcony Dinner. I can't say that I have ever had a cut that was "fatty," and for that I am appreciative.

Now, before somebody jumps in, here, and tells me that I am whining or being hypercritical, let me add that for many reasons Princess is my cruise line of choice, and I plan on continuing my personal research.

:D

People always rag on Carnival and tote them as being the "Wal-Mart" of cruising. However ever single steak I've had on Carnival was far superior to the steak I had on Princess. Every dinner I've had in the dining room on Carnival had much more taste to it than Princess.

Princess has it's pluses over Carnival mainly its utilization of space, the lack of pushiness from bartenders, wait staff and shop keeps and the Magic to Do show was WAYYY better than anything Carnival has to offer show wise.

Thanks for your comments. I love the fat. :p

Thanks for your report.

Very nice review.

Keith

Based on your review it sounds like another Princess ship that I'll put last on my list.

I realize that this is only 1 view of the so-so food but I'll keep it in mind when reading others. When we were last on the Crown the food was definitely much better. Looks like things have gone downhill. :(

Thanks for the honest opinion. I'd rather hear the truth than just another raving report about how great everything was which seems to be the trend lately.

Thanks for the review. It's sounds like you were very honest and straightforward in it. Sorry that you won't be cruising Princess again. Come on and give PCL another chance. We really enjoy PCL but then again that is just us. ;)

Just Mike

Thanks for your thoughts. We were on the same cruise and agree on some things, saw some other things differently.

The midship elevators were the worst I've seen. Two of the six elevators were out of commission the entire cruise, so that's a problem. Lots of five minute waits, sometimes longer.

As for food, I'm surprised to see you thought it was "awful." Lunch in the buffet lacks imagination for sure, and I think Carnival does a better job of providing options (deli sandwiches, Mongolian Wok, Burrito Bar, or whatever they have now). But we enjoyed our dinners in the MDR. We had good prime rib and Beef Wellington, but otherwise stayed away from beef. It's not what Princess does best. There was, however, some great fish and seafood. That's what we tend to concentrate on in the MDR.

We didn't really like "Magic to Do" much. We both kept nodding off and heard others say the same. Maybe it's because we went to the 10 p.m. show after a long day. We thought the comedian Carlos Oscar was one of the best we've ever seen.

The theater seats are not as generous as I remember Carnival's as being, but if you thought those were tight, you don't ever want to go on Norwegian. At least on our two cruises with them (Jewel and Dawn) they were like coach airplane seats. Just couldn't stand them.

I agree that people bad-mouth Carnival too much. We haven't been on it in a couple years, but I think they do some things really well.

Jim

Thanks for posting your review. The food on Princess is not consistent. Some dishes that I have loved on one ship weren't that great on another cruise. That said, the New York strip steak is one dish I'll never order again. The only great steaks I've had on Princess have been at the Crown Grill and the Ultimate Balcony Dinner--meals that cost extra. Most of the time I order the seafood main course.

Thanks for your thoughts. We were on the same cruise and agree on some things, saw some other things differently.

 

The midship elevators were the worst I've seen. Two of the six elevators were out of commission the entire cruise, so that's a problem. Lots of five minute waits, sometimes longer.

 

As for food, I'm surprised to see you thought it was "awful." Lunch in the buffet lacks imagination for sure, and I think Carnival does a better job of providing options (deli sandwiches, Mongolian Wok, Burrito Bar, or whatever they have now). But we enjoyed our dinners in the MDR. We had good prime rib and Beef Wellington, but otherwise stayed away from beef. It's not what Princess does best. There was, however, some great fish and seafood. That's what we tend to concentrate on in the MDR.

 

We didn't really like "Magic to Do" much. We both kept nodding off and heard others say the same. Maybe it's because we went to the 10 p.m. show after a long day. We thought the comedian Carlos Oscar was one of the best we've ever seen.

 

The theater seats are not as generous as I remember Carnival's as being, but if you thought those were tight, you don't ever want to go on Norwegian. At least on our two cruises with them (Jewel and Dawn) they were like coach airplane seats. Just couldn't stand them.

 

I agree that people bad-mouth Carnival too much. We haven't been on it in a couple years, but I think they do some things really well.

 

Jim

Oh yeah Carlos was funny. Enjoyed him. Carnival's main floor of the theater has couches with small tables in front of them to place drinks and stuff.

I always go by 1 persons opinion of a ship. I will complain about everything next time I go on Carnival. That's never! Kids cruises!!:D

5 pools not 4. The Chill Out pool is on Deck 17 aft.

Oh yeah Carlos was funny. Enjoyed him. Carnival's main floor of the theater has couches with small tables in front of them to place drinks and stuff.

Don't know if you noticed, but each seat in Princess Theater has a fold up table alongside it. Like college lecture halls had back in the day, or maybe still do! :p

Well balanced take, thanks for sharing

 

Srpilo

Ditto. I will agree with you about the Trident Grill. The sandwiches on Carnival are better, including the hamburgers. Carnival has some other good options, too, like the Mongolian Grill, that you don't find on Princess.

Thank you for your review. We have only cruised with Princess once - that was a few years ago on the Crown. She is a beautiful ship and we had a great time. It does sound as if the food is not as good as it used to be though, unless the OP was simply unlucky.

We tried a hamburger from the grill one evening on the crown. I saw a griddle of fresh burgers being grilled - mmmm.

The cook took a rubbery looking precooked patty out of surly looking pot of hot water and warmed it up on the grill for me. Those freshly cooked burgers were headed for the pot of water to be rubberized.

We tried a hamburger from the grill one evening on the crown. I saw a griddle of fresh burgers being grilled - mmmm.

 

The cook took a rubbery looking precooked patty out of surly looking pot of hot water and warmed it up on the grill for me. Those freshly cooked burgers were headed for the pot of water to be rubberized.

That is my objection, too. A partially pre-cooked hamburger is just yuck, IMO.

Not a big fan of boiled burgers.

Did you dispose of it in the trash?

There were 104 teens onboard over 400 kids glad you didn't notice, all very well behaved. This was Califorina and Washingtons spring break.

Food was some of the best we have had. Cookies were hard to get, especially choco chip. Anytime dining was the worst we have ever experienced on any cruise! Due to exceptional long wait times 1 hr + and could never get a reservation in any time dining when we called before 8:15pm. People were lining up at the 5:15pm dining time outside the dining room at 4pm and same for the dining room that opened at 7:15pm. We did not like "Magic To Do" at all, weird and bad production and show in my opinion, was a disappointment as love all of Princess other shows and the Princess dancers singers were awesome. Staff were wonderful. I never saw a "marked " hot tub, pools were warm, great movies were shown and all rerun on tv, even the new Star Wars movie. Trident Grill is on Holland America. A lot of us have onboard suffered sinus infections. Loved the itinerary. This was a great 7 day cruise. There were 2 Captain Circle parties and most travelled if I remember correctly was over 1300 or 1400 days, 3rd most was over 800.

Wherever you cruise embrace and enjoy the experience.

They want you to pay an extra $19 at the Salty Dog Pub and get a hamburger with more garbage on it than a dumpster can hold. $19.00 US dollars and I'm mad at Guys for charging $10. I can pick and choose enough food to get a good meal aboard a cruise ship and I don't complain. I drove a truck and ate truckstop crap. Mos have Dennys or Wendys or Arbys nowdays and truck drivers wonder why they have heart attacks. NY strips aren't good steak either IMHO as I was raised on a Farm and Ranch and ate Ribeye all the time. Sirloin comes from the upper butt behind the ribs. I just don't like the flavor.

Thanks for the review.

There were 104 teens onboard over 400 kids glad you didn't notice, all very well behaved. This was Califorina and Washingtons spring break.

Food was some of the best we have had. Cookies were hard to get, especially choco chip. Anytime dining was the worst we have ever experienced on any cruise! Due to exceptional long wait times 1 hr + and could never get a reservation in any time dining when we called before 8:15pm. People were lining up at the 5:15pm dining time outside the dining room at 4pm and same for the dining room that opened at 7:15pm. We did not like "Magic To Do" at all, weird and bad production and show in my opinion, was a disappointment as love all of Princess other shows and the Princess dancers singers were awesome. Staff were wonderful. I never saw a "marked " hot tub, pools were warm, great movies were shown and all rerun on tv, even the new Star Wars movie. Trident Grill is on Holland America. A lot of us have onboard suffered sinus infections. Loved the itinerary. This was a great 7 day cruise. There were 2 Captain Circle parties and most travelled if I remember correctly was over 1300 or 1400 days, 3rd most was over 800.

Wherever you cruise embrace and enjoy the experience.

Trident Grill was on the three Princess ships we were on.